Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) SVP Sells $227,566.13 in Stock

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) SVP Michael Prevoznik sold 1,111 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.83, for a total value of $227,566.13. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 38,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,859,531.93. This trade represents a 2.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

NYSE DGX opened at $202.28 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $185.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $183.76. The firm has a market cap of $22.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.12, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.96. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 1 year low of $157.20 and a 1 year high of $213.20.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The medical research company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.75 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.99% and a return on equity of 15.57%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.23 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.45-9.650 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 20th. Investors of record on Monday, April 6th will be given a dividend of $0.86 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 6th. This is a positive change from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.57%.

Quest Diagnostics announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, February 10th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the medical research company to repurchase up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Dean Capital Management lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Dean Capital Management now owns 12,478 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,165,000 after buying an additional 382 shares in the last quarter. Compound Planning Inc. raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 169.7% during the 4th quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 3,582 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $622,000 after acquiring an additional 2,254 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 533.8% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 165,729 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $28,759,000 after acquiring an additional 139,582 shares in the last quarter. Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC now owns 19,402 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,367,000 after purchasing an additional 1,881 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strive Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at $88,000. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on DGX shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Evercore set a $220.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $210.29.

Quest Diagnostics Company Profile

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX) is a leading provider of diagnostic information services that supports clinical decision-making for patients, physicians and healthcare organizations. The company operates a network of clinical laboratories and patient service centers that perform a broad range of laboratory tests and diagnostic assays used in routine care, disease diagnosis, monitoring and screening.

Its services span core clinical laboratory testing, anatomic pathology, molecular and genomic diagnostics, infectious disease testing and toxicology.